Police on Wednesday arrested a prominent actor and television host Ali Saleem, commonly known as ‘Begum Nawazish Ali’ on charges of consuming and possessing liquor.
According to Ali Saleem, who was taken into custody in a raid at a guesthouse in Clifton locality and later released on bail, he was beaten up and harassed by policemen in plainclothes. He told the media that he was at the guesthouse near Tauheed Commercial for the shooting of a movie. He said men in plainclothes barged into his room and began harassing him. The actor said that since the police personnel did not disclose their identity, he thought it was a kidnapping bid and began running. Upon his hue and cry, other artists in the guest house and several neighbours gathered on the street to help him, but a police mobile reached the site soon and took him and others to the police station.
District South Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Omar Shahid Hamid maintained that the Clifton SHO raided the guest house based on a tip off that an underage boy was being held against his will at the venue. SSP Hamid claimed that while the police party was searching the premises, they came across actor Ali Saleem who seemed to be in an inebriated state. “He grew agitated and started assaulting the police and abusing and created a ruckus in the neighbourhood,” the officer claimed. “The SHO retrieved the boy and detained four men who were found with the boy,” he added. Furthermore, he said that as a result of the hue and cry created by Ali Saleem and his ‘interference’ in the police action, the police party arrested him and the manager of the guest house.
“Bottles of liquor were recovered from his room and the guesthouse manager was booked under the Temporary Residents act,” the officer explained. “The actor was taken for lab test in which he tested positive for alcohol,” he added. SSP Hamid said that later on, the police shifted the actor and the detained guesthouse manager to a Clifton police station where separate cases were registered against them. An First Information Report (FIR) under Section 4 local and special law was registered against Ali Saleem on behalf of Clifton SHO Javed Abro while an FIR under Section 11 of temporary residential act was registered against Atiqur Rehman, the manager of the guesthouse.
The SSP said that afterwards, the actor was taken to court where he received his bail.
Veteran actor Meera was also staying at the guesthouse. She told the media that she was in another room and she came out when Saleem asked for help. Meera denied any involvement in the case.
Published in Daily Times, September 6th 2018.